Frieda Hinshaw Speer

Frieda Rose Hinshaw Speer

October 7, 1925-December 9, 2021

                Mom wrote her obituary a few years ago, and this is what she wrote with a few updates:

                Frieda Hinshaw Speer, 96, passed away in her sleep, December 9, 2021.  She was born October 7, 1925, to Sanford and Bonnie Hutchens Hinshaw in East Bend, N.C.  Frieda married the love of her life, Allen Paul Speer, Jr. (Red) June 9, 1950, in a double wedding with her sister June Smithdeal and Richard Smithdeal.  She is preceded in death by her husband, Red, on August 24, 1987, and her father and mother.

                Frieda attended Woman’s College and Guilford College.  She was a great supporter of Wake Forest her whole life, as her husband attended that school. After college she worked in the payroll department of Western Electric. Frieda and her good friend Swanee Reece started Jack and Jill Kindergarten, which they ran for several years while their own children were young.  Another job she loved was working many years for the Yadkin County Farm Bureau.  She worked there until she retired to take care of her grandson, Daniel.

                Frieda loved God, the Quaker church she grew up in, and Boonville Baptist.  She served her God however He called her. Frieda taught the children’s “Sunbeams” class, led the children’s choir, taught Bible School, was an adult Sunday School teacher, and a leader in the WMU groups.  One of the greatest honors in her life was having a mission group named after her by “her girls,” the Frieda Speer Circle.

                Frieda also served God by helping in the community.  Governor Jim Hunt appointed her to serve on a committee at the Yadkin Correctional Prison for 20 years.  She was an active member of the Woman’s Club and helped build the Boonville Public Library by donating the land.  She enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels until she was 89.

                Frieda is survived by her son, Dr. Allen Paul Speer III and wife, Dr. Janet Barton of Banner Elk, by her daughter Sandra Speer Bryant, and husband, Barry Lee Bryant.  She leaves her special grandchildren, Daniel Paul Bryant (Amber), Jeremy Allen Bryant (Kathryn), Barton Carroll (Carrie), Donovan Carroll (Lori), and precious great grandchildren Speer Bryant, Sullivan Bryant, and Donovan George Carroll.  She is also survived by her sister, June Smithdeal and her special nieces, Lynn Smithdeal (David), Brenda Proctor (Tim), and Beth Bryant (Aubrey) and great nieces and nephews.

                A private family graveside celebration will be held at the Speer farm.

From her children, Allen and Sandy:

Our mom loved God, her family, and her friends in that order.  Her life was spent loving and serving all three.  A funeral is a celebration of a life that has passed.  Our mom’s life was celebrated by her many friends and family while she LIVED all 96 years.  Cards, flowers, food, phone calls and visits blessed her weekly and “made her day” until she died. Thank you Boonville, for loving her during her entire life and making her feel as special as she was. Her life truly was a life well lived.

 A special thanks to all Mom’s caregivers over the past five years who have helped us keep her at home, and to Yadkin Valley Hospice for their assistance.  Also, Mom wanted to especially thank Yadkin County Farm Bureau for taking such wonderful care of her during retirement.

In lieu of flowers, memorial can be made to: Foundation Fighting Blindness, PO Box 45740, Baltimore, MD 21297-5740, Boonville Library Endowment, c/o North Carolina Community Foundation, 3737 Glenwood Ave., Suite 560, Raleigh, NC 27612 or Boonville Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 429, Boonville, NC 27011.